Pbocess of distilling and cracking petroleum and analogous oils



A. I. PARIS, In. I PROCESS OF DISTILLING AND CRACKING PETROLEUM ANDANALOGOUS OILS. APPLICATION FILED DEC-27, I9I6.

1,367,828. Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

AUGUSTE JEAN rams, 5a., or BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIL PROCESS OF DISTILLINGAND CRACKING PETROLEUM AND ANALOGOUS OILS.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

Application filed December 27, 1916. Serial No. 139,125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUcUsTn JEAN PARIS, Jr. a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Bradford, county of MoKean, and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Process ofDistillin and Cracking Petroleum and Analogous (ills, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention is a process of distilling and cracking petroleum, or anyof its distillates, and the process is applicable also, in some of itsphases, to the treatment of oils obtained in the distillation of coalshale and other mineral products. The process is an improvement, incertain particulars, on the process disclosed by me in aVIpriorapplication, Serial No. 25,403, filed l ay 3, 1915.

In the process disclosed in the said applica-- tion, the material undertreatment, e. 9., petroleum or natural gas, or both in conjunction, areintroduced separately into a chamber or still containing molten lead,said molten lead furnishing the heat by which the oil and gas aredecomposed as desired.

The salient feature of the present invention, over the process of saidprior application, consists in commingling or mixing the oil and gasprior to their introduction into the molten lead contained in thechamber or still. Either the oil or gas may be heated, if desired, andthen commingled, or both the oil and gas may be heated, or they may befirst mixed or commingled, and the mixture preheated prior to itsintroduction into the still. I

By introducing the mixture of oil and gas into the still, andparticularly for the purposes of cracking or polymerizing the oil orthe'constituents of the gas, I find that the operations are morecomplete and can be carried out more expeditiously, and that theprocess, in general, gives much better results, than the process of myprior application referred to.

Features and advantages of the invention, other than those adverted to,will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description, as well asobvious to those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated one form of apparatuswhich I have found practical and satisfactory in practising the methodforming the subject matter of the present invention, but I desire tohave it understood, however, that the apparatus is merely typical orillustrative of one type of 'less diagrammatically, the

apparatus which may be used, and that the method may be practised invarious other types of apparatus without materially changing the spiritor substance of the invention, the salient features of which are notdependent on any particular form of appa ratus.

The drawing shows in eleiation, more or orm of apparatus to whichreference has been made.

Referrlng to the drawing, A is a retort or still, adapted to containmolten metal, a, preferably lead, and it is manifest that the column ofmolten lead may be of any desired height, thereby providing means forcontrolling the pressure within the still, particularly atthe bottomthereof.

A ma n is provided for introducing oil or other l1qu1d into the stillthrough a branch pipe b'controlled by a valve 6 The main 6 may beprovlded with a preheater 6 wh ch, as shown, is in the form of a coil whch may be heated by a gas burner b, which receives its supply of gasfrom a gas p1pe provlded with a valve b Another main 0 is provided forintroducmg gas 1nto the still or retort, beneath the surface of themolten metal, said pipe being provided with a preheater 0', heated by aburner c which receives its supply of gas through valve 0 positioned atthe upper part of gas pipe 6 A downtake c from pipe c s provided with aValve 0 said downtake pipe having its outlet 0" located below thesurface of the molten metal.

011 supply pipe I) has a valve extension 6', connecting with the gasdowntake pipe 0* whereby oil may be commingled with the gas in saidpipe, and the mixture introduced below the surface of the metal in saidstill, and, usually, near the bottom thereof.

Still or retort A may be heated in any desired manner, for the purposeof keeping the lead in a molten condition and at a desired temperature,but I have shown a gas heater H, for supplyin the required heat. It willbe understood that the temperature of the still may, if desired, becontrolled thermostatically as described in my prior application.

Main 0 is provided with a downtake e having a valve 6', the outlet ofsaid pipe being located above the molten metal a, whereby, if desired,gas may be introduced near the top of the still and above the moltenmetal. Entering near the top of'the still and above and:

the molten metal is a pipe whereby air or oxygen may be introt uced nearthe top of the still for the purpose of either burning, or blowing out,any free carbon which accumulates on the surface of the lead as a resultof the cracking operation. Gas en tering through pipe 6 may also beused, if desired, for blowing out lamp black from the still. 1

The temperature at the top of the still may be controlled by water orother refrigerating liquid entering through a main 9 having a branch 9'provided with a valve'g the end of said branch having a nozzle 9 bywhich water is sprayed on the top of the still, and flows into a troughg, whence it is drawn off through overflow pipe 9 Still A is provided,near its bottom, with a valved draw-01f pipe l1, whereby the moltenmetal may, if desired, be removed from the still, and it will beunderstood that the system is provided with such customary expedients aspressure gages i i, thermometers, etc.

The various distillates, or products of decomposition, formed in thestill A, and particularly the oil vapors resulting from the crackingoperation, escape through exlt pipe 7' positioned near the top of thestill, and may be trapped out or separated in any manner well understoodin the art, such, for example, as that disclosed in my prior applicationreferred to above, Serial No. 25,403.

Having fully described the apparatus, and its general mode of operation,brief reference will be made to the specific method followed in thetreatment of petroleum, either crude, refined or any of the distillatesthereof, for cracking the same. The gas employed, preferably naturalgas, flows through pipe 0, and may be heated or not, as desired, inapreheater c, thence through downtake pipe 0 and outlet 0 into themolten metal, and preferably near the bottom of the still. Oil entersthrough pipe I), and may be preheated or not, as desired, in heater bwhence it passes, through valve branch 2), into the downtake gas pipe 0wherein it is commingled with the gas, the resulting mixture enteringthe still through outlet '0. The mixture of oil and gas is cracked inits passage through the molten metal, with incidental separation ofcarbon. The resulting vapors flow oil through pipe 7', and the separatedcarbon may either be burned at the top of the still by introducing airor oxygen through pipe f, or this carbon or lamp black may be blown offfrom the still, through exit pipe y by means of gasintroduced at the topof the still through branch pipe 6. If the carbon is blown off, it maybe recovered and utilized as lamp black.

It will be understood that the temperatures and pressures may becontrolled to a nicety in the apparatus described, and by ture thereofmay be kept very much lower than that at the bottom of the still.

It is not deemed necessary to specify the specific pressures ortemperatures required to efi'ect the results desired, since these varywith the particular oil or other material treated and are well known tothose skilled in the art. However, as a specific illustration, I maymention the following: Assuming I am operating on the fuel oildistillates of Pensylvania fuel oil, say of 38 degrees Baum, and naturalgas, either oil or gas or both, may or may not be preliminarily heatedas described. Operating in retort A at a temperature of from 900 to 1200degrees F., the mixture will be satisfactorily cracked at pressuresvarying from two atmospheres and upward, the higher the pres sureemployed, the lower the temperature required to effect the cracking.

Features of the invention, other than those described, will be apparentto those skilled in the art, and it will be obvious that the process isnot restricted to all the details of operation described. I may, forexample, in lieu of using natural gas, employ any of the constituents ofnatural gas in ractising the process, such as methane, et ane, butane,propane, or petane, or a mixture of any two or more of suchconstituents.

aving thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The herein described method of treatment of hydrocarbon gas andpetroleum oil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil,introducing said mixture directly into a body of molten metal andeffecting cracking of the constituents of the mixture by the heat andpressure of the molten metal.

2. The herein described method of treatment of hydrocarbon gas andpetroleum oil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil,introducing such mixture, in preheated condition, directly into a bodyof molten metal at a sufiicient depth beneath the surface of the metalthat the latter will exert a substantial pressure thereon, and effectingcracking of the constituents of the mixture by the heat and pressure ofthe molten metal.

3. The herein described method of treatment of natural gas and petroleumoil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil, introducingsaid mixture directly into a body of molten metaland effecting crackingof the constituents of the mixture by the heat and pressure ofthe moltenmetal.

4. The herein described method of treatment of natural gas and petroleumoil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil, introducingsuch mixture, in preheated condition, directly into a body of moltenmetal at a sufiicient depth beneath the surface of the metal that thelatter Will exert a substantial pressure thereon, and effecting crackingof the constituents of the mixture by the heat and pressure of themolten metal.

5. The herein described method of treatment of hydrocarbon gas andhydrocarbon oil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil,introducing said mixture directly into a body of molten metal andeffecting cracking of certain of the constituents of the mixture by theheat and pressure of the molten metal.

6. The herein described method of treatment of hydrocarbon gas andhydrocarbon oil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil,introducing such mixture, in preheated condition, directly into a bodyof molten metal at a sufiicient depth beneath the surface of the metalthat the latter will exert a substantial pressure thereon, and effectingcracking of certain of the constituents of the mixture by the heat andpressure of the molten metal.

7. The herein described method of treatment of natural gas and petroleumoil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil, introducingsaid mixture directly into a body of molten metal and effecting crackingof certain of the constituents of the mixture by the heat and pressureof the molten metal.

8. The herein described method of treatment of natural gas and petroleumoil which comprises forming a mixture of such gas and oil, introducingsuch mixture, in preheated condition, directly into a body of moltenmetal at a sufiicient depth beneath the surface of the metal that thelatter will exert a substantial pressure thereon, and effecting crackingof certain of the constituents of the mixture by the heat and pressureof the molten metal.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

AUGUSTE JEAN PARIS, JR.

